Taximeter.



M. KUHN & R. NETTER.

TAXIMETER.

APPLICAToN FILED APB.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET L M. KUHN L R. NETTER.

TAXIMETER.

PPLIGATION ULEB APR.27,1911.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5 wwe WCM/af WA/MZ UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

MAX KUHN AND RAIHAL NETTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.; SAID NETTER ASSIGNQR TO SAID KUHN.

TAXIMETER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912- Application led'April 27, 1911. Serial No. 623,586.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that we, MAXKUHN, a citi'- zen of the United States, and RAPHAEL NET- Tnii, a citizen of the Republic vof France,

structed according t0 our invention, and

wherein-- Figure l is an elevation, partly in section, of an automobile car, part of one side of the car'being broken out, to disclose the arrangement of some parts of thedevice; Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section; and Figs; 3 and t are detail views, drawn on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 being a side elevation, partly injvertical'sectioii, and Fig. 4, a plan view, partly in horizontal section, of the details ofjthe mechanism for setting the locking device in actionby the folding seats of the vehicle; Fig. 5 is' a front elevation, and Fig. 6 a side view of the mechanism for locking the shaft of the fare registering device in recording position, the parts thereof being shown in their positions, locking the shaft; F ig.` 7 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 5, but showingv the shaft of the fare registering device in non-recording position, and the locking mechanism disengaged therefrom; Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fig. 7, but showing the shaft of the fare registering device. in non-recording position, the

same-as in Fig. 7,'.but showing the locking mechanism set to snap in and to lock the shaft when turned into recording position; Fig. 9 is a diagram of the mechanism for setting the locking device in action, and of its connections; Fig. 10 is an elevation,

partly in section, and Fig. l1, a plan view,

of the balancing lever beams, whercon the rearseat of the vehicle is supported; Fig. 10 showing also the mechanism, whereby the locking device is set in action by the depressing of this seat.

Our invention relates to devices, generally designated taxim'eters, for recording and i indicating the distance traveled b a vehicle,

the durations of stops, etc., and Aor indicating the amountv of fare to be paid by the passenger, and which have their mechanism arranged to be set 'into a recording or non-recording position, itbeing intended that when the vehicle is used by a passenger,

the mechanism of the taximeter is to I,be set in the recording position and returned again to its normal, non-recording position, when the vehicle is not occupied. Thisl setting of the taximeterl in its recording and non-recording positions, is effected by the driver moving a lever, connected to .the shaft of the taxi'meter, and usually supplemented by a flag or'a sign,-to indicate that the vehicle is hired, or open for hire. The drivers of such taxi-cabs are in'- struCted, and are supposed to turn the shaft of the taximeter into the recording position immediatelyl when the vehicle is hired, Aand to keep it there as long as the vehicle islused in the service of the passenger. In ractice, however, they sometimes careessly, or even intentionally, turn back theshaft, while the vehicle is yet occupied by the passenger, thus returning the operating mechanism of the fare recording device to its non-recording. position. This leads to dispute between the passenger and the driver, as to the amount ofv the fare to be ves paid, the driver pretending that the taximeter is out of order and demanding that the passenger disregard the amount of 4fare lndicated and pay what the driver demands; dishonest drivers also make use of 4such an occurrence, to cheat the owner of the vehicle in accounti-ngvfor'the pay they collected for the service. v.

The object of our invention isto prevent the possibility of .the itaximeterfbeing returned into its non-recording position, while the vehicle is engaged in theservice of a passenger, and our inventionc'onsists i'n devising thehcrein shown device for automatically locking the shaft' of the fare recording device when its' mechanism is set in t-he recording position, and for holding it locked in that position, beyond the control.

of the driver, as long as the vehicle is occupied by a passenger.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, our locking device is adapted to the type of taXimeters used on the vehicles commonly designated as taxi-cabs. In 'these' taximeters there is a flanged sleeve S, rigidly secured to the taxiineter shaft 2 and on'the fia-nge 4 ofthis sleeve there are rollers 7 rotatably mounted on thestems ofscrefws 6,

screwed therein. These rollersflarefsnacedillo apart correspondingly to the steps of th/ed motions of the shaft, and we malte use of this arrangement in designing our locking device, as shown in detail in Figs. 5, l', 7 and 8, showing our locking device in its active y and inactive positions.

The bolt 9 of the locking device is turnably mounted on stud l0, whereon also lever 11 is fulcrunied. Lever 11 and bolt 9 are operatively connected by the arc-shaped slot 12, made in the bolt 9, and the pin 13, set in lever 11; pin 13 engages in the slot 12 (see Fig. 7), and moves the bolt 9 to or from the taxiineter shaft, according to which way lever 1v1 is swung. Spring 14, secured to the stunted arm of lever 11, by screw 15, and held in alinenient with the bolt 9 by pin 16, is set against the hook-shaped head of bolt 9, pressing it into engagementwith the rollers 7, as shown in Fig. 5, when the other arm of lever 11' is vpulled down, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8. It is not in contact with bolt 9 when the locking device is in the position shown in Fig. 7, in which. the bolt 9 is held inactive and away from the shaft 2 of the taxinieter. The free end of lever 11 is connected by thebifurcated loop-head 19 to the pull-cord 21, whereby the locking device is set, and the spring 22 slid thereon, between the bot-torn plate of the taximeter casing and the flange 23 of the loop-head 19, returns it to the position shown in Fig. 7 when the pull. on the cord 21 is released.

The. locking of the shaft 2 is effected by the hook-shaped head of the bolt 9, tted to enterbetween, and to engage with, the adjoining rollers 7, when sprung in, as shown in Fig. 5, whereby the shaft 2, after being turned, by moving lever 1, to set the taximeter into its recording position, is locked. When the shaft2 is thus locked, the lever 1 cannot be moved until the bolt 9 iS again withdrawn. To prevent the locking of the t-aXimeter shaft in the nonrecording position, the block or bridge 17 is set on screwsvGL and 6, so as to partly till the space between them, and this prevents bolt 9 froinventering `(snapping) into the space between the rollers mounted on these screws. This bridge '17 stands against (see Fig. 8) the bolt 9 when the shaft 2 of the taXimeteris turned to hold its mechanism .in non-recording position, and as it prevents the hook4 9 from entering between the rollers, the shaft 2 of the taxiineter cannot be locked in this position.

The pull-cord 21 is c onnected with the seats of the vehicle in such manner that., by occupying any of the seats, the passenger sets the locking device in action, automatically effecting the locking of the taXimet-er' shaft, if then, or thereafter, themechanism of the taXimeter is set in its recording position. After being thus locked, the shaft 2 65 cannot be disengaged or released from this vlocking device and the .mechanism of the taXimeter is held in its recording position, as long as any one of the seats of the vehicle remains occupied. Pull-'cord 21 is incased in tube 211, led, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, on the bot-toni of the carriage body, underneath the stationary seat S, and from there underneath the flooring toward the front of the vehicle, where the .so-called drop-seats are hinged to the body of the vehicle. After passing the seat S, the tube 24- and the pull-cord 21 are split into three branches 24a, 24th, and 24C, eachone of these three branches being led, between the walls of the front side of the carriage body, to one of the drop seats D, D' and D3 (see Fig. 1). At or near the level of these seats, longitudinal slots 27a are provided in each branch 24', 24th and 24C of the tube 24, and blocks 26 are secured to the pull-cord.,O1 wherein cross-pins 27 are set in, projec'ting on both sides through the said slots 27a. To each of the drop seats D', Dz'and D3, an arm 28 is secured, or made integral therewith as an extension of one of the hinge parts, to act as levers, fulcrumed on the hinge-bolts 3() of these seats. The forked ends of arms 28 straddle the branches 24a, 241 and 24C of the pull-cord tube, and engage the projecting ends of the cross-pins 27 (see enlarged details, Figs. and 1), when the seats D, D2 or D3 are dropped, thereby drawing upon the pull-cord 21 and lever 11 of the locking device. Spring 22 is made sufficiently strong to resistthis pull on the cord 21 and to maintain the locking device in the position shown in Fig. 7, as long as none of the seats is occupied. Vhen, however, a passenger sits down on any of the seats, his weight overcomes the resistance of spring 22, and brings the seat in the position shown in Fig. 3. The spring 22 is then compressed, lever 11 pulled vdown and bolt 9 is brought in the position shown in Fig. S. ln this position the locking mechanism is set to lock the taximeter shaft as explained.

The mechanism for sett-ing the taxiineter locking device in its operative position, by the' depressing of the rear, or main, seat S of the vehicle, is illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. This seat S is set upon a balancing lever frame, which is operatively connected with one arm of a bell-crank, whose other arm engages the cross-pin 27 and acts on the pullcord 21 in the saine way as the arms 2S of the drop-seats described above. T he balancing lever frame is devised to effect this action when this seat S is occupied by only one passenger, and irrespectively, whether ,he Asits in the center or on either end of the seat. It is arranged as follows: Two frameshaped levers 31 and 31a are `suspended on wedge-shaped cross-pins 32, in the bearings 83, secured to the frame 31 of the seat-box;

,their arms converge toward each other, the

ends of one (31) are joined together and formed into a tongue 35, wherein a wedgeshaped cross-pin 37 is fixed; the ends of the` other (31u) are conformably shaped to-embrace the tongue 35 and are pivotally connected to it, by the cross-pin 37 engaging in the bearings 36, provided in t-he ends of this lever 31, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. A bell crank is fulcrumed in lug 52, aflixed to the under side of the brace of the seat box, and the end of the tongue 35, extending beyond the balancin@r connection of the two levers 31 and 31a 1s connected to the horizontally disposed arm 51 of the bell-crank lever by the rod 47, whose head 48 is loopshaped and bifurcated, the wedge-shaped cross-pin 49, 'fixed in the end of the tongue 35, engaging therein. Thus the balancing lever frame is supported by the spring 39, set in a tubular socket 40, affixed to a brace of the seat-box, and bearing against the flange of the head of rod 47. The seat S is mounted on the balancing lever-frame, its four'st-unted legs 42 aiiixed to the bottom plate 54 of the seat, engaging the wedgeshaped pins 43, projecting fro-m the sides of the balancing lever frame. rl`hus this rear seat S is movably supported in such manner, that when a passenger seats himself on any part thereof, the extended arm or tongue 35 is depressed, and. overcoming the resistance of the spring 39, acts on the arm 51 of the bell-cranklever p'ivotally connected thereto by the rod 47, as indicated in Fig. 10 in dotted lines.` The other, vertically depending, arm 53 of this bell-crank lever is .bifurcated, likei the lever arms 28 of the drop seats and engages the cross-pin 27, set in block 26, and whose ends project through the longitudinal slots in the pull-cord tube 24. Then the seat S is thus depressed, arm 53 draws the pull-cord 21, whereby the spring 22 of the locking device is depressed, the lever 11 pulled down, and thev locking bolt 9 set in its operative position, indicated in Fig. 8, as described before with reference to the action of the lever arms 28 ofthe drop seats. The mechanism, connected with the seat.S,.effects the setting of the locking device into its operative position, independently of that connected with the drop seats D, D2 and D3, and equally, the locking-device will be set in operative position by a asscnger occupying any of the drop seats, independently of the seat S and also of the other drop seats. The locking of the tax imeter shaft is thus edected by a passenger occupying any one of the seats and the taximeter is kept in its recording position as long as any o-f the seats of the vehicle remains occupied.

We claim as bur invention: l. A locking device comprising a shaft provided with means to be engaged` by a bolt,

a lever, a boltl pivotedl thereon, and means on the lever, operatively .connecting the bolt therewith; a spring, yieldingly holding the boltwithdrawn from the shaft; a movable seat in the vehicle, and means operatively connecting the seat with the lever, and whereby the bolt is set in position to engage with the means on the shaft, when the Seat is depressed; substantially as herein shown and described.

2. A locking device for a taximeter and similar fare registering and indicating de# vices for vehicles, comprising the shaft of the taximeter, means on the shaftadapted to be engaged by a bolt, to lock t-he shaft in its position; a. bolt, pivotally mounted in posi. tion to be moved in engagement with the means on the shaft; mechanism for moving the bolt; a spring set to hold the bolt away from the means on the shaft; movable seats in the vehicle; and means operatively con-l. nected therewith and with the mechanism moving the bolt, to set the bolt against the actionof the spring in engagement with the means on the taximeter shaft when the seat is depressed, substantially as herein showni and described.

3. A device for locking a taximeter, or

other fare registering and indicating device for vehicles, in its registering position, comprising a shaft, means on the shaft adapted to be engaged. by a bolt to hold the shaft whenturned to set the taximeter into its registering position; a hook-shaped bolt mounted on a pivot and adapted to engage the means on the shaft; a lever; means opferatively connecting the lever with the bolt; a spring acting onthe lever to move the bolt away from the shaft; a movable seat in the vehicle and means, operatively connecting the lever therewith, and moving the lever to set the bolt in position toengage with the means on the shaft when the seat` is depressed; substantially as herein shownand described.

4. A device for .locking a taximeter, or other fare registering and indicating device for vehicles, comprising a shaft, means on the shaft of the taXimeter adapted to be engaged by a bolt` to hold the shaft when turned to set the taximeter into its registering position; a hook-shaped bolt adapted to engage the means on the shaft; a lever; means operatively connecting the lever with the bolt; a spring, secured to the lever and acting on the bolt, when the bolt is moved in position to engage the means on the shaft, to press it into engagement therewith; a spring acting on the lever to move the spring away from the bolt and the bolt away from the shaft; a movable seat in the vehicle and means goperatively connecting the lever therewith and moving the leve1:.to set the bolt in position to engage with the means on the shaft and the spring on the lever in posimeans on the shaft; substantially as herein shown and'described.

',to hold the shaft when turned to set the taxirneter into its registering position; a

, hooleshaped bolt mounted on a pivot and adapted to engage the meanson the shaft; a two-armed lever; means operatively connecting one arm of the lever with the bolt; 'a pll icord, connected to the other arm of the lever; a spring, set to stretch the pull 'cord and to yieldingly hold the lever in position; turning the bolt from the means' on the shaft; a movable seat in the vehicle, and mechanism connected therewith to draw the pull cord `when the seat is depressed, Wherehy the lever is actuated to set the bolt in position to engage with the means on the shaft; substantially as herein shown and described.

6. A locking device tei; a taXinieter and similar fareiregistering and indicating de- Vices for vehicles, comprising a shaft, means on the,v shaft, adapted to be engaged by a bolt, to loclr the shaft inits position; a bolt and means yieldingly holding the bolt Withdrawn from the shaft; a compound balancing frame in the vehicle; a seat mounted thereon, and mechanism, connected with the balancing `iframe and with the bolt, and adapted to set the bolt in. position to engage the means on the shaft when the seat mounted on the frame is depressed;

' substantially as herein-shown and described.

7. A device for locking a taximeter, or other fare registering and indicating device 4for vehicles, in its registering l position, ycomprising a shaft, means on the shaft adapted to be enga-ged by a bolt; a hoch-shaped bolt .mounted on a pivot and adapted to engage the means on the taximeter shaft; a lever; means operatively connecting the lever With the bolt; a spring acting on the lever to move the bolt away from the shaft; a compound `balancing traine in y'the vehicle; seat mounted thereon, and nieclninism connected Withit-he frame and with the lever, and adapted to move the lever to set the bolt in position to engage the means on the taximeter shaft when the seat, mounted on the iframe, is depressed; substantially as herein shown and described.

8. The combination with a vehicle, of a tare registering and indicating device; means for locking the device; a compound balancing trame comprising tivo traineshaped levers, the ends of one of the levers being extended into an arni and the sides of the other lever being pivotally joined thereto, apinoXimately midway between the ends of the frame; means 'tor sivingingly suspending the levers from a fixed part of the yseat-box ofthe vehicle; a seat; set with one end on each of the tivo levers; a yielding support for the extended arm ot one of the levers; mechanism operatively connected with the means Yfor locking the fare registering and indicating device; and means for actuating the mechanism by the extended arm of the frame; substantially as herein shown and described.

9. The combinationivith a vehicle, of a fare registering and indicating device; a shaft; means tor locking the shaft; a movable seat; and means, intermediate the seat and the fare registering and indicating device, for actuating the means, locking the shaft, by depressing the seat; substantially as herein shown and described.

10. The combination, in a vehicle, of a fare registering and indicating device; means for locking the device in its registering position; a compound balancing frame comprising two frame-shaped levers, the ends of one of the levers being extended into an arm, and the sides of the other lever being piv'otally joined thereto, approximately mirrvay between the ends of the frame; means for sivingingly suspending the levers from av fixed part ot' the vehicle; a seat mounted on the trame; and means operatively connected With the arm of the frame and the locking device, and operating to lock the :tare recording and indicating device by depressing any part of the seat, substantially as herein shown and described.

MAX KUHN. RAPHAEL NETTEP itnesses V. BRAUN, ALroNsn F. SPIEGEL. 

